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Environment

A 4.6 Magnitude Earthquake in BC Was Caused by Fracking

It's the largest oil and gas-related quake in the province's history.

Fort St. John, BC. Photo via Flickr user tuchodi

Fracking just set a pretty shitty new record in BC, having caused the largest oil and gas industry-related earthquake in the province's history.

An investigation by the province's Oil and Gas Commission into a 4.6 magnitude quake, which hit northeastern BC in August, revealed that it was caused by fracking. Fracking is the practice of drilling into the ground and using highly pressurized water (and a bunch of chemicals) to extract oil and gas from the earth.

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The quake was felt on the surface, but, according to the commission, was not serious enough to cause danger to humans or the environment. It did, however, prompt Progress Energy to temporarily cease its fracking operations in the area 110 km west of Fort St. John. The company was also responsible for a 4.4 magnitude earthquake in 2014, so it just beat its own record. Progress Energy has said that as part of its commitment to "safe and responsible development" it has set up 17 stations to monitor seismic activity in its operating areas.

Research shows fracking-related earthquakes are a growing trend.

There have been around 160 small earthquakes in the area around Fox Creek in central Alberta since 2003, when fracking operations began in earnest. These quakes have grown in strength and now account for some of the largest in the world tied to fracking. Seismic activity near Oklahoma City has also been linked to oil drilling.

Honn Kao, a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada, told the CBC the news sounds worse than it is.

"This level of earthquake, although sounds scary, but in terms of the actual seismic damage, magnitude 4.6 is very unlikely to cause significant damage."

Whew, I feel safer already.

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